a small birthday celebration!

with today being cg's bday, we gave her presents this morning, and cake this evening...and here are the pics!

birthday wishes

I bet many people are celebrating the birth of a loved one today. In our house, we are celebrating the birth of CG, our precious girl number four!










CG was born with tracheomalasiya, or a floppy trachea. For the first couple of years, she would just stop breathing...without warning. We are so grateful for her little life...and at four, you would never know she was so sick.









She is a gorgeous girl, and has been since day one. :) course, i'm totally not biased haha!

specialty cornbread....

so in my effort to post recipes, i thought i'd share my new love...cornbread with creamed corn and green chilies. not sure where the idea came from, but it's yummy! so here's the thing...cornbread, normally, is kinda dry and crumbly...and in soup i love it, but just to eat...not so much. however, this new way, i love it...and eat it alone! so here's how i did it, and how i'd change it next time!

Ingredients:
1 c cornmeal
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 c milk
1/4 c oil
1 can cream corn
1 small can green chilies


preheat oven (and cast iron skillet) at 350. Mix dry ingredients, then add wet. mix, don't overmix. remove iron skillet from oven, pour in batter, return to oven. bake until golden brown.


Doesn't that look yummy?

i know you've missed me...

and I've been a busy lil bee! we spent a week with my family, then about a week with daddy! And, for your viewing pleasure, I have pics to prove it! We had a great time, and now we're home...and back to normal...and back to blogging. So I leave you with pics from "Mongol Plague", an SCA event in Doyline, LA. Enjoy!

AJ my little tree monkey!
Miss V is just hanging around!
AR plays amongst the trees!
CM plays in the trees!
Another shot of AJ...
CG checks out life low to the ground.
Can you see the hiding daughter?
a view from the road...a gorgeous tree, and gorgeous daughters playing in it!
Precious family time!
Daddy and Miss V...enjoying the day!

new directions...

hubby and i watched "julie and julia" last weekend...i giggled when she started her food blog! i'd been thinking of adding some other types of posts to my previously "all family all the time" blog that ya'll are reading...so today i'll be posting the first of my recipe posts! enjoy.

I watched the Rachael Ray show, and she made something similar to this dish...so i tried to find it online...but couldn't find the recipe. so i tried to "rememberize" the ingredients...and my attempt turned out delish!

so here's what i did....

1 16 oz box of large shells (not the extra large stuffing kind)
1 lrg container ricotta cheese
Parmesan/romano shredded cheese
1 bag fresh baby spinach
1 lg can crushed tomatos (28 oz)
1 large carrot
1 large white onion
4 cloves garlic

i sauteed the onion in a bit of butter (you can use oil instead), then put some of the onion in a seperate pot, and added the spinach to the rest. I grated garlic over the spinach and over the seperated onion, then i covered the spinach, and added a big can of tomatoes to the separated onion/garlic pot. Grate the carrot into your sauce (it adds a touch of sweetness and some veggie goodness too!) Boil the pasta to al dente, drain and return to the hot pot. stir ricotta cheese into hot pasta, stir gently. add a handful (or three) of the parm/ricotta cheese and stir gently to combine.

Now comes the fun part. take your favorite casserole dish, and put a smidge of your red sauce in the bottom. then, dump the pasta mixture in the dish, and cover with the red sauce, saving a bit to serve at the table. top with a bit more cheese, then bake until bubbly.



now ain't that purty?!?

2010 Handbook!

2010 Handbook...

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

I wish I could give credit to the author of this, but I red it on a friends blog. I thought it was great, and that you might love it too. Now perhaps I can print it out and remember it all year! Happy New Year Ya'll!

odd things

My friend over at a joyful chaos posted a list of odd things...so i thought i'd join in the fun!

Odd Things About Me
There is this list of things circling around and I thought I'd join in today for a change.

1. Do you like bleu cheese? nope...tastes like feet smell to me. haha

2. Have you ever smoked? Nope.

3. Do you own a gun? yup...

4. What color Kool Aid was your favorite? lemonade

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? yes. doctors make me very nervous!

6. What do you think of hot dogs? in a word? EW!

7. Favorite Christmas movie? a Charlie Brown Christmas

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water or coffee

9. Can you do push ups? i can...but i try not to if i can help it!

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? my wedding band.

11. Favorite hobby? hm...making jewelry...or illumination...or babies!

12. Do you have A. D. D.? yes....squirrel!

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? yes. glasses

14. Middle name? I kept my maiden name...but my middle name was JoAnn

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. are the children still awake? wonder if i can get everything done this week... wonder if this job will end this month...or if i'll go crazy before it ends!

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? water, coffee, and water.

17. Current worry? not sure i have worries...concerns maybe, but not worries.

18. Current hate? well, i have a love/hate relationship with sundays...does that count?

19. Where would you like to go? paris, ireland, scotland, and nyc. haha

22. Name three people who will complete this: no clue, but leave a comment to let me know ifyou do it, so i can check it out!

23. Do you own slippers? i think i have three pair!

24. What color shirt are you wearing? gray...boring huh?

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Not sure, never tried them!

26. Can you whistle? no i can't...but a couple of my daughters can.

27. Where are you now? living room rocker/recliner.

28. Would you be a pirate? uuuhhhh, no.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? whatever i think of.

30. Favorite Girl's Name? Claudia

31. Favorite boy's name? Michael

32. What's in your pocket right now? lint?

33. Who last made you laugh? AFV

34. What vehicle do you drive? a mini van...at least for another month or so.

35. Worst injury you've ever had? twisted ankle?

36. Do you love where you live? well, it's alright.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? two.